1. Field
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and, more particularly, to a hinge cover and a top cover for a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus to supply cool air, which is generated from an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle, into a storage compartment, for keeping various food reserves inside the storage compartment in a fresh state for a long time. The refrigerator includes a body forming the outer appearance of the refrigerator, a storage compartment defined in the body to have an opened front side, and a door coupled to a front side of the body to open or close the storage compartment.
Conventionally, domestic refrigerators may be classified, on the basis of the arrangement of a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment and the installation structure of doors, into a general type refrigerator, a side-by-side type refrigerator, a mixed type refrigerator, etc. In the most widely used general type refrigerator, a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are arranged above and below each other, and also, a freezing compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door are arranged above and below each other. In the side-by-side type refrigerator, a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are arranged side by side, and a freezing compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door are arranged side by side. In the mixed type refrigerator, a freezing compartment is beneath and a refrigerating compartment is on top. The freezing compartment is opened or closed by a drawer type door, and the refrigerating compartment is opened or closed by a pair of refrigerating compartment doors.
One example of the mixed type refrigerator is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2005-0117536. The conventional mixed type refrigerator, disclosed in the above publication, is configured such that a refrigerating compartment is provided in an upper section of a refrigerator body and a freezing compartment is provided in a lower section of the body. The refrigerating compartment is opened or closed by a pair of refrigerating compartment doors, and the freezing compartment is opened or closed by a drawer type door.
In all the above-described conventional refrigerators, to prevent a hinge shaft of each door, which is opened away from or closed to a refrigerator body via a pivotal rotation thereof, from being exposed to the outside for improving the outer appearance of the refrigerator, a hinge cover is provided on the top of the body. Also, a top cover is provided on an upper surface of the body, to hide swelling that is caused as a heat-insulating material is expanded unevenly in the course of being foamed into the body.
However, since only one of the covers may be installed or the respective covers are installed separately, the above-described conventional refrigerators have the problem of high manufacturing costs due to an increased number of elements. Further, since the hinge cover and the top cover are separated from each other, there is the problem of deterioration of the outer appearance.